- General Fannie Masemola confirmed the dockets are being processed at the police head office before being sent back to the task team.
- Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi earlier revealed the dockets had been taken from the team and handed to General Shadrack Sibiya.
General Fannie Masemola has confirmed that 121 case dockets taken from KwaZulu-Natal’s political killings task team will be returned once copies are made.
The national police commissioner spoke on Thursday following concerns raised by Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who first revealed in July that the files had been removed from the unit.
The dockets cover murder, attempted murder and intimidation cases, with at least five already containing arrest instructions.
General Masemola said the files were being processed at SAPS head office before being handed back to the team. He warned the cases were highly complex and that arrests should not be expected soon.
He also announced that a Gauteng branch of the political killings task team would be opened to focus on unresolved political and taxi-related murders in the province.
At an earlier briefing, Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi accused suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu of interfering in sensitive cases and protecting businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
He further claimed Mchunu and General Shadrack Sibiya worked together to weaken the task team, which uncovered a cartel-linked syndicate involving politicians, police, prosecutors and businesspeople.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has since set up the Madlanga Commission, chaired by retired Constitutional Court justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, to investigate Mkhwanazi’s claims.
However, the commission’s start has been delayed due to procurement problems, and a new date has not yet been announced.
Pictured above: Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Image source: File
